


Family Honour

by Blue Eyes Black Dragon (OperaGoose)



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Probably Inaccurate Depiction of Japan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-30
Updated: 2016-10-30
Packaged: 2018-08-27 22:43:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8420020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OperaGoose/pseuds/Blue%20Eyes%20Black%20Dragon
Summary: “Mam took Shizu’ in the car with all the bags. She didn’t stop when I was chasing. If she didn’t forget me, then she left me behind. Which means I must’ve done something bad.”





	

The lights in the house were all turned off when he got home. He’d gone to the bar, but when he’d tried to pay for it the card had been declined for insufficient funds. He’d had a few drinks, but when the barkeep had frowned at the tab sheet, he decided it was best to give up and go home. 

Jounouchi growled, stomping from the gate to the front door. If his fool of a wife had forgotten to pay the powerbill… As soon as he stepped inside, his hand found the lightswitch. The lights flickered to life without fault. No powercut then – she just wasn’t home. 

She’d been going out more and more often lately. His wife didn’t like Domino as much as he had hoped. Her family had come from Tokyo and when he’d accepted his job at the jieitai she’d hoped they’d be stationed nearer to them. He had been comfortable with their life in America, serving in the military there. 

But she had disliked the changeable lifestyle, and dug her heels in and complained every time they’d been forced to move—had to take their children out of their school and move them across the country to a new one. 

The jieitai had offered him a more stable home. He would be required to move about where the forces were required, but the family could stay in one home while he was away. He’d only just come back from Kyoto and clearing the devastation of the earthquake there. He’d been given time off because of a bad twinge in his back, and the more time he spent at home the more time she spent outside the home. 

She’d probably taken the children out. There’d be no dinner for him. In America, wherever she went, she found a housekeeper. She was having more difficulty with that in Osaka than she had before. She had complained to him, repeatedly, about the neighbours who thought she was a terrible wife because she wouldn’t take responsibility for the household duties herself. He hadn’t pressed her. 

She’d been born and raised in New York, where housewives were a relic of the past. She didn’t see the same honour in the work than the neighbours here did. As long as the kids got fed and there was enough money in the bank to pay bills at the end of the month, he didn’t care what she got up to. 

He headed to the living room. A bit of television, and maybe he’d send for a meal to be delivered when his buzz wore off. He heard the sniffling and shuffling before he turned the light on and saw the source. 

“Katsuya?” He asked with a frown. 

The little boy loosed from his curl a little. His little hands were balled into tight fists near the mess of tangled blond hair, almost the same shade as his own had been at that age. “Otou?” No honorifics again. 

“What are you doing in the corner, musokochan?” He asked, approaching him. 

The boy seemed to flinch away from his heavy footsteps. “I don’t know what I did bad, but mam makes me sit in the corner when I’m bad.” 

Jounouchi frowned. “Why do you think you’ve done something wrong?” He asked seriously. 

“Mam took Shizu’ in the car with all the bags. She didn’t stop when I was chasing. If she didn’t forget me, then she left me behind. Which means I must’ve done something bad.” 

He scowled at that. Turning away, he stomped up the stairs. Yanking open the door to his bedroom, he saw it ransacked. Drawers open, his own clothes spilled everywhere, but anything womanly was gone. Looking in Shizuka’s room revealed a similar situation. He snarled angrily. 

Stomping back downstairs, his liquor-fogged mind tried to plan out the next course of action. The boy was back sniffling again. “Quit that!” he snapped impatiently. The body immediately flinched away from him, and though his stomach churned in guilt, he didn’t apologise. 

“When’s Mam coming home?” The boy asked in a quiet, scared voice. 

“Speak up!” Jounouchi barked impatiently. “If you have something to say, actually say it. Don’t whimper like a kicked puppy.” 

Katsuya was slow to raise his chin and meet his father’s eyes, but he asked in a stronger voice: “When’s Mam coming home?” 

“She’s not, Kastuya,” he said. He’d tried to be calm about it, but his anger curled in his voice. “She’s not coming back. She’s taken her daughter and she’s going to leave.” 

The boy’s forehead wrinkled up, lips drawing together in a childish pout. “I don’t understand…” 

“You will.” 

Katsuya’s lip began to wobble and low whimpers began to squeak in his voice. 

“Stop it,” Jounouchi barked. “Stop crying. For every minute you cry I’ll belt you!” 

That brought Katsuya into a terrified, startled silence, cheeks still wet with tears. Another sick twist of guilt in his stomach he shoved away. There was no time to be easy on the boy. 

He held an arm out, and the knelt on the floor, head bowed politely. He stroked a comforting hand through the coarse blond hair, so similar to his own. It tangled into clumps thanks to the neglect of his mother. “Shh,” he soothed. “We’ll be alright, Katsuya. I’ll teach you how to act like a man.” 

He needed a drink. 


End file.
